HHH.exe

I was expecting a creepy story where the destroyed disc creates a game that becomes … TOO REAL.

The graphics are amusingly accurate for the period and the game box is a good touch. (EDIT: the graphics are edited from a 1980s game. I feel a little let down as I thought this was original work by the author.)

This is nastier than I would expect from a typical game of this era – a pumpkin is described as: “Glint of hot metal amid the sputtering wax and vegetable rot.” I hoped this was a sign of strange and grotesque things to come, and really liked the random capitalised brown Hs in the text.

“The hot reek of a killfeast in full swing. The revellers emit patchwork shrieks of expletives and blasphemy.” Crikey Moses this is strange in a good way.

The game then gets more odd and hideous, until it ends abruptly.

I expected a bit more. As it is, it’s just unsettling with a smidgen of commentary on games.

I do notice that the labrys and the icon and the maze all reference the legend of the minotaur, but to what end I know not.

The game is extremely linear with no puzzles to speak of. It’s more of an atmosphere game. It does create a mildly creepy feeling. The writing is evocative and I noticed no bugs or typos. That said, I’m not sure what the point was and why it needed to be presented as an old glitched PC game. I wish the author had made a bit more of the themes. My overall feeling is ‘slick, fun but … why?’.

This game starts out as an illustrated twine implementation of Hugo's House of Horrors, an old game similar to Maniac Mansion.

The author has added vivid descriptions of the graphics. Not all the original game is implemented. The game has not been implemented in exactly the same way as the original as there is, for instance, new dialogue, including strong profanity.

The game begins to glitch out, as in the classic glitch creepypasta.

I felt like the horror never really took hold, although it was better at times.

It took me 20 minutes to finish the game.

I loved loved loved this charming game.

Negs: I wish it lasted longer. I didn't really understand what the ending meant, and I didn't really understand how the glitchiness interacted; like, if there was a larger hidden story, I didn't follow it. But I had a great time not following it. The art and prose are really engaging and the story was unpredictable and satisfying.